Holy Parentheses

It's been a busy week: sick grandchildren, a deadline for another project—and more. Here it is, my turn to post here and I have nothing. But I did read something last night that I loved, and I think you might like it, too.

In his book The Deep Things of God: How the Trinity Changes Everything, Fred Sanders points out that the work of the Son and the work of the Holy Spirit are thoroughly intertwined as they fulfill their roles the plan of salvation. As proof, he quotes a list from R. A. Torrey's summary of Christian doctrine, What the Bible Teaches (pages 287-89)—a biblical list of ways Jesus's earthly ministry is accomplished in the power Holy Spirit. 

1. Jesus Christ was begotten of the Holy Spirit. (Luke 1:35)
2. Jesus Christ led a holy, spotless life, and offered Himself to God through the working of the Holy Spirit. (Hebrews 9:14)
3. Jesus Christ was anointed for service by the Holy Spirit. (Acts 10:38; Isaiah 61:1; Luke 4:14, 18)
4. Jesus Christ was led by the Holy Spirit in His movements. (Luke 1:4)
5. Jesus Christ was taught by the Spirit who rested upon Him. The Spirit of God was the source of His wisdom in the days of His flesh. (Isaiah 11:2; compare Matthew 12:17, 18)
6. The Holy Spirit abode upon Him in fullness and the words He spoke were the words of God. (John 3:34)
7. Jesus Christ gave commandments to His apostles whom he had chosen, through the Holy Spirit. (Acts 1:2)
8. Jesus Christ wrought His miracles in the power of the Holy Spirit. (Matthew 12:28; compare 1 Corinthians 12:9-10)
9. Jesus Christ was raised from the dead by the power of the Holy Spirit. (Romans 8:11)

And it doesn't end there. The Holy Spirit continues to be involved in the Son's accomplishment of salvation even after the ascension. He applies the work of Christ to believers, regenerating them and empowering them to live holy lives. Christ ascended into heaven and sent the Holy Spirit indwell his people. And at Pentecost, on the basis of the finished work of Christ, the Holy Spirit "inaugurates the new era in God's ways with the world."

"Thus," writes Sanders,

the work of the Holy Spirit surrounds the work of Jesus Christ, as he goes before and after the incarnate Son like a set of holy parentheses embracing the story of salvation in Christ. [Deep Things of God, page 135]

If you want to know more about the work of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit in the work of salvation, or, to use Sanders terms, the Trinitarian shape of the gospel, The Deep Things of God is an excellent source.

How We Study the Bible

Here at the blog, we always encourage our readers to be in the Word as much as they can. What better topic for a post than reading the bible?

Today, some of us here at the blog are going to share our approach to bible reading. We hope you are encouraged by these comments. None of us believe we have the perfect approach. But, hopefully, if you're looking for some ideas, you'll get some.

Kim:

My bible reading is influenced by the fact that I teach every week. That means that what I teach, I study. Even in the summer months, as I plan ahead, I'm reading what I will ultimately teach.

Starting on Monday, I read the passage every day, about four or five times.  For each passage, I make up a worksheet which has the text on it in two versions, side by side. I use the ESV myself, but my students prefer the NIV. I just copy and paste from Bible Gateway, make nice wide margins and extra spacing, and that is where I begin my notes. Sometimes, I will do what is called "phrasing," but not every time. It's really time consuming, and I don't always have time. It is very beneficial, though, because it makes me slow down. I use a couple of commentaries to help me understand things I'm uncertain of. My goal in the first few days as I study is to be careful and slow, seeing the relationships between words, paragraphs and sections.

It's been quite a while since I read through the bible in a year, and this year I was inspired to do so after reading Tim Challies' blog, recommending God's Glory In Salvation Through Judgement.  I don't always get to that reading every day, but I play catch up on Sundays. I also read the Psalms daily, using a morning and evening schedule from The Common Book of Prayer.  Reading the Psalms feeds into my prayer time.

I do my bible study in the morning because my mind is well-rested. On some days, I take half an hour in the late afternoon to finish the Psalm readings for the day. Not everyone prefers morning reading, and I think it's a mistake to insist that it's the perfect time. My husband is not a morning person, and he prefers to read at night. The more important thing is to find the right time and place where one can be free from distractions.


Rebecca:

Except for when I’m reading something purely for entertainment, I am a very slow reader because I don’t want to miss anything. I’m even slower with my Bible reading. I usually read 4 or 5 verses a day (or even fewer), paying particular attention to the connections between words and the flow of the argument. I also circle the key words and often do a little research to see how the author of the book I’m reading tends to use a specific word. If I have a commentary on the book I’m reading, I’ll read what that says about the passage.

I've also done a little Bible arcing, particularly for the gospel of John. Like phrasing, arcing takes a lot of time, so I've abandoned it, but I would like to pick it up again someday.

In the past year or so I’ve worked my way slowly through John, Hebrews, Romans, and Ephesians. Right now I’m reading/studying the second chapter of 1 Peter. Since most of my reading in recent years has been in the New Testament, when I finish 1 Peter I plan to move on to something in the Old Testament.

I’ve read through the whole Bible in a year a few times. While it was useful for me to do it in order to get an overview of scripture,  I’ll probably never do it again. That kind of reading is a real chore for me. I enjoy my Bible reading much more when I’m not rushing through.

Unlike Kim, I study in the evening, because in my home, it’s the evenings that are quiet. One problem with studying the Bible in the evening is that can I get busy or tired and my Bible reading gets pushed off until tomorrow. This happens more frequently than I want to admit.

Melissa:

My Bible reading/study is constantly evolving. Even my original plan for this year has changed, because a friend recommended the study Behold Your God. After viewing the introductory video, I shared it with my husband. We knew this study would be a great fit for our family and we just started it this week.

During the week, I spend my morning study time working through Behold Your God. I plan to spend Saturday mornings reading through the Gospels, with a commentary as as reading companion. I probably read at a pace somewhere between Rebecca and Kim, so I expect to finish two of the Gospels this year.

On Sundays I like to review the Scripture from our sermon, again with a commentary as a reading companion. (We are currently studying Exodus, which is one reason I've chosen to study in the New Testament on my own.)

Each evening I finish out the day with New Morning Mercies: A Daily Gospel Devotional and the Scripture passage listed for further study. Ironic, I know; but it works best for me.

Getting back into a guided Bible study has made me realize how much of a benefit it is for me. When I finish Behold Your God, I will probably begin The Wisdom of God: Seeing Jesus in the Psalms and Wisdom Books by Nancy Guthrie. I imagine the rest of my reading will continue as I've outlined here, but I'm always open to change.

Persis:

I've given up trying to read the entire Bible every year. While I think it's very important to read through all 66 books, too often this has lead to my skimming the passage as quickly as possible so I can check the box. Consequently, I don't have a self-imposed deadline for my current reading/study. I read a passage in the morning along with the morning portion from Morning and Evening by Charles Spurgeon. This allows me to consider what I read throughout the day and do more digging in the evening, which works better for my schedule. It's also rather settling for my soul to go to bed having just been in the Word. Am I always consistent? No, but I push on.

I am currently reading through the Old Testament chronologically. This was inspired by my pastor's current sermon series on Genesis, which has been tracing God's promise of the coming Messiah throughout this book. I am taking up this same theme but extending it to the whole OT. I've read The Gospel and Kingdom by Graeme Goldsworthy to get the big picture of the OT. I'm also reading From Paradise to the Promised Land: Tracing the Main Themes of the Pentateuch by T. Desmond Alexander. Alexander's book unpacks themes such as Abraham's faith, Passover, the Sinai covenant, and the Tabernacle and connects them to the New Testament. He also provides recommendations for commentaries and other resources for further study. I am currently in Exodus, so we will see whether I finish the OT this year or not.

Staci

A couple of years ago, I read through the Bible in 90 days. Apart from the time I read through the Bible chronologically, it was one of the most helpful things for my understanding of the Bible I'd ever done. I realized then that reading large chunks of Scripture was more helpful for me.

I've always been a big picture thinker. I can't really absorb details until I have a good overview. I tend to retain more by reading at a faster pace and then going back to it in a few months.

For the last couple of years, I've followed Professor Horner's Bible Reading System. In this plan, I read a chapter from several sections of the Bible each day. When I finish a section I start it again. For instance, if I don't miss any days, I read through the Gospels in 3 months (although it usually takes me closer to four). Reading through the prophets takes at least 8 months (but actually more like ten). As you can see, I miss days here and there. If I'm short on time, I just read a few of the chapters and don't worry about the whole list.

I've seen some interesting connections reading different chapters side by side. And since all the sections go at a different pace, I don't ever read the same chapters together. I return to the same sections every few months, and I pick up new details every time.

I usually read in the morning. If I don't get it done early it usually doesn't get done.

This isn't for everyone. Most people, like my friends, do better zeroing in on smaller sections. I'm a fairly fast reader, and my kids are old enough that they don't need much help in the morning. I doubt I could have managed this when my kids were small. But at this stage of life, with my current schedule, it works well for me.

Update:

It occurred to me that perhaps some of our readers would like to share some of their bible reading habits. If you would like to add something in the comments, that would be great, and I think others would benefit from it as well.

The God Who Sees

It’s happened so often that I should be able to see it coming. I was talking with a friend, and let loose with a sarcastic comment. But instead of making her laugh, the comment stung. I had accidentally found a sore spot, and I hurt her.

But there was a further problem: She really didn’t want me to know. I owed her an apology, but apologizing would force her to admit her sensitivity, and that would have made her even more uncomfortable.

I could have forced the issue, but I felt like I’d already done enough. I ended up resorting to a non-apology apology, I didn’t mean that the way it sounded. She gave a flustered denial, Don’t worry about it. I knew what you meant.

Ugh.

Besides wishing that life came with some sort of delete button (or even a flux-capacatior-equipped DeLorean so I could journey back in time and redo these encounters), I’ve spent a lot of time scolding myself for this incident. Why did I say that? What possessed me to think this wisecrack could be anything else but hurtful? And yet, I understand her desire to hide just as well. When I’m feeling vulnerable, I also like to hide. During times when I really should be opening up to receive healing, I retreat. I hide behind a book, or go work in my office to shut myself away from my family and the world.

I usually resort to pop psychology to explain these things, but when it comes down to it, all my issues can be explained in the book of Genesis. I’m a sinner who keeps trying to fix herself. Most of the time I'm either building my own personal Towers of Babel, or covering myself with fig leaves. Look at me! I scream. Just don’t look too closely!

We see this in the story of Hagar, the Egyptian servant of Abraham’s wife Sarah. We don’t know the details of Hagar’s story, but we can assume her servanthood in a foreign country didn’t come about in a happy way. And then she was used by her mistress to bear Abraham’s child. Then she was mistreated because of it. And because Hagar is also a sinner, she tried to capitalize on it as well. So she was sent away with her son, and she is despairing for their lives. Then God intervenes. And she refers to him as “the God who sees.”

The God who sees. The God who sees our strivings and our insecurities. The God who sees our sin clearer than we can, and the futile attempts to cover it over ourselves. The God who sees is the only one who can fix it, and he fixes it by sending his Son, the only solution that can actually work.

The answer is not to keep striving. Nor is the answer to hide in shame. The answer is to rest and trust in the God who sees. Because the one who truly sees is the only one who can offer the true solution.

When you meet trials of various kinds

One thing I love about James and the book of the Bible that bears his name: he pulls no punches. James is a straight shooter and I like that. In fact, I am currently teaching through the book and I told my class this past week that sometimes I feel as if he's explained himself so very plainly that all I need to do as a teacher is read the text and conclude with "Yeah; what he said."

I don't, of course. But sometimes I feel like I could, what with all James' plain speech.

Consider how he begins his letter. Barely two verses in and already he is tenderly admonishing his brothers and sisters in Christ to "count it all joy...when you meet trials of various kinds." See how straightforward he is? How realistic? Trials are not an "if" in James' economy; they are a "when." He knows life is hard and struggles will come and he doesn't shy away from that truth.

In fact, he acknowledges that these difficulties can be varied. Naturally our minds turn to the "big" trials--the heartbreaks, the diagnoses, the losses. But we will endure trials of various kinds, the seemingly big as well as the seemingly small, and regardless of how big or small we may consider their relative importance we are to count them all joy.

All joy. Count it all joy when these sure and varied struggles come to you, James encourages us, and were he to stop there we would have to respond with either disciplined stoicism (clinch your teeth and just get through it) or Pollyannish denial (what trials?).

But James tells us exactly why we can count it joy: "for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness..." In other words, count it joy because there is a purpose and that purpose is for the testing of your faith through these varied trials to produce steadfastness in you.

How does this work? Some difficulty arises, big or small, and I am faced with the testing of my faith: "Is God there? Does He hear me? Is He good?" As I wrestle with these questions, how will steadfastness have its full effect in me?

There is not time or space here for a full theology of suffering but here are three truths that feed my endurance when faced with trials, big or small:

1. How I react to the trial reflects what I really care about. This is an ugly truth, but one worth considering with great soberness. Whether it is a sudden devastation or a lingering irritation, what I value will be exposed by my reactions and most often this will require confession and repentance as I work through the sin and idols that are exposed.

2. The Lord is my only true hope and comfort. This truth is closely related to #1. As my false comforts and selfish desires are exposed, I must rehearse to myself the sufficiency of the Lord. Whatever it is I think I want or need I will find it in the Lord!

3. The Lord was faithful yesterday, He is faithful today, and He will be faithful tomorrow. How easily I forget the countless ways He delivers me and sustains me! Rehearsing His past faithfulness fuels my trust in Him.

So when the trial comes, searching my reaction will expose my true desires and my false idols. Confession and repentance call me to cast myself on the truth that my only true hope and lasting comfort is the Lord alone who is always, eternally faithful despite my feelings or questions. I remind myself of the gospel, of Jesus who died to save me a sinner, and of the grace and freedom that is mine as His child. My faith may be tested but I can endure as I trust Him in the sufficiency of His grace.

Life is hard. These varied trials may be big, they may be small, they may last for a short time, they may not cease until the Lord calls you home. But we can count it all joy, all of it, all joy, because we trust our good and gracious God.

That's straight-shooting, plain gospel truth. 

Standing on the Promises

Due to a series of unexpected events, the book review I planned will have to wait a few more weeks. Today's entry was posted on my personal blog earlier this month.

Something came out of the blue this week-end which left me feeling anxious in a way I hadn't felt in a long time. I knew I shouldn't worry, but my stomach twisted itself into a big knot. I had taken all the necessary steps I could at the moment. I knew I should trust God, but it was so hard to overcome that sinking feeling. In the past, I tried to get relief by listening to sentimental Christian-ish songs to drum up a different set of emotions, but it never lasted. Dealing on an emotional plane only addressed the surface problem, not the root.

I tried to fight the internal churning but didn't hide it very well. My daughter gave me that look which said, "I know you're worrying. It's not good. Do you need to talk about it?" So I confessed my worries and fears to her. In turn, she reminded me of the gospel and paraphrased Romans 8:32. If God chose to save me, if Jesus died to make that happen, did I really think He didn't care or wasn't big enough to handle this current situation? Obviously not, but how quickly I forgot.

To take my mind off the situation, I vacuumed. As I vacuumed, I prayed and began to rehearse the gospel which led me to 1 John 2:1 and back to Romans 8. Jesus Christ was my advocate before God the Father. God in his holy and righteous wrath without any intermediary is the worst thing any human being could face, but the wrath that I deserved was placed on Christ. I receive mercy and forgiveness. Instead of being outcast now and forever, I am His child and part of the bride of Christ. God is for me. Who can be against me? God loves me. What can separate me from that? The more I dwelt on the truth, the knot began to untie in my stomach. The more I focused on the facts of Christ's work and its ongoing and far-reaching effects on my behalf, the worry began to lift.

To cap it off, during my pastor's sermon on Genesis 22, the significance of God's promises clicked perhaps for the first time in my 40+ years as a Christian. They aren't just inspirational snippets from the Bible, a heavenly Hallmark greeting to make me feel better about myself and my situation. God's promises are declarations of His commitment to His purpose and to His people based upon His character. His promises are sure because He is sure. His faithfulness to keep those promises can be traced through history from creation, to the Cross, and up to today, which includes me. I am one of those grains of sands promised to Abraham in Genesis 22:17 and confirmed by Paul in Galatians 3:7-9. So I don't have to wonder whether I am outside of God's care. My salvation is proof that He keeps His promise from Genesis to the present and until time gives way to eternity.

So when in fear, skip the sentimental songs and the pithy platitudes. Their flimsy emotionalism will not support me. I can cast myself, burdens, doubts, and all, on the sure foundation of God's promises.

For when God made a promise to Abraham, since he had no one greater by whom to swear, he swore by himself, saying, “Surely I will bless you and multiply you.” And thus Abraham, having patiently waited, obtained the promise. For people swear by something greater than themselves, and in all their disputes an oath is final for confirmation. So when God desired to show more convincingly to the heirs of the promise the unchangeable character of his purpose, he guaranteed it with an oath, so that by two unchangeable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled for refuge might have strong encouragement to hold fast to the hope set before us. Hebrews 6:13-18.